Let Your Sharp Teeth Show
by snusmumriken
Summary: No one frames Regina Mills for murder and gets away with it. Regina decides to hunt down Archie's killer on her own, only to find that she is not entirely surprised by what she discovers.
1. Chapter 1

AN: My fanfic skills are a little rusty (it's been a few years!) but hopefully you'll enjoy this story anyway. Reviews always welcome!

* * *

Regina pulled her car over a few feet shy of the border between Storybrooke and the rest of the world, cut the engine, and slumped over the steering wheel, vaguely wondering if she was going to be sick. The drive out of town had at least let her compose herself. Watching Emma break the news to Henry about Archie's murder and who was responsible – who she _thought_ was responsible – had almost been too much for Regina. The desire to use magic, to destroy and consume and bleed the life out of that damn place was still thrumming through her body, begging her to give in to it.

_You really have changed_. Henry's words stuck with her, a bitter taste on her tongue. Look what change had gotten her – a one-way ticket to prison, execution, or permanent memory loss depending on how the cards fell. She hadn't even meant to drive to the town limits, but now that she was here she couldn't deny that taking a few simple steps and forgetting her entire life held some temptation.

She would never do it, of course. She couldn't do that to Henry, even after everything that had happened. It wasn't a befitting ending for a queen either – if she had to go out, Regina wanted to go out in style, fireworks and all.

But she couldn't pretend she understood how things had fallen apart so quickly. She thought people had been beginning to notice the change in her, even if they didn't accept it yet. Emma had even come to her defense in the sheriff's station. She had believed Regina's innocence then – what had happened? Whatever Emma had seen when she visited Gold's shop had been enough to damn Regina beyond question. It didn't add up. The whole thing reeked of magic.

Something had been niggling at her for a while now, ever since Emma and Snow had climbed out of the well and stepped all over the life she was trying to rebuild in Storybrooke. At first she had thought it was just the aftereffects of all the magic she had absorbed – magic in this world _was_ unpredictable, as everyone said – or some lingering trace of the Enchanted Forest attached to the two returned women, though neither of those explanations made much sense. She and Gold were hardly the only magic users in Storybrooke, but the stirrings she had been feeling lately were something new, something different that seemed to be upsetting the normal balance of the town.

Regina was sure that this new presence, whatever it was, had something to do with Archie's death. Archie. Poor, sweet, annoyingly sensible Archie. Regina had her issues with him, to be sure, but she couldn't imagine killing the man. She couldn't imagine anyone else wanting to kill him either, which meant that whatever happened had happened because someone was trying to get to her. Someone was trying to remove her from Storybrooke permanently. And that idea made Regina very, very pissed off.

"Not in my town," she muttered to herself, turning back towards the one place she could still call 'home.' Emma Swan certainly wasn't the only person in this world who could track down a criminal or two.

* * *

Even thinking about using magic sent a twinge of guilt through Regina, but the cloaking spells did seem necessary. She couldn't handle the wrath of the townspeople descending on her head right now, and she needed to be able to move about freely if she was to find out what was going on.

Archie's office was the logical place to start. It was such a familiar walk that Regina half-expected Archie to be waiting for her when she pushed the door open. The sheriff and whoever else had investigated the crime scene must have cleaned up the mess – nothing was out of place, and sunlight filtered cheerily through the curtains just as it did on ordinary mornings. Yet something about the room made the hairs on the back of Regina's neck stand up, and she warily drew her veil of magic more closely around her as if to protect herself.

Something was very wrong there. Dangerous. Deadly. There was barely a trace of magic left in the air, but it was enough to tell Regina that she was dealing with someone much more powerful and experienced than she had anticipated.

She wasn't sure what to do after leaving Archie's office. Wander around town hoping to pick up other traces of that ominous magic? Wait for the Big Bad to walk by and introduce himself? She was trying to concentrate, to _think_, as she stepped around passersby who got too close to the edge of her cloaking spell, but thoughts of Henry kept pressing in at the most inconvenient moments. Everywhere she looked there were long-buried memories of him. The corner where he had fallen and scraped his knees for the first time, his smile when she had kissed them better, their habitual visits to Granny's where Henry would insist on getting hot chocolate no matter what time it was…it was pathetic, really, how much she hungered for that boy's love. How much it hurt her when he walked away, arms around Emma once again.

_Love is weakness_. Her mother's words came to her unbidden, as they so often did. And yet the thought stopped her cold as something that had been eluding her for far too long snapped into place. _Her mother_.

"Oh, I should have known," Regina hissed, darting a quick glance around her as if she expected her mother to be lurking just out of reach. She was halfway to the sheriff's station, nearly colliding with several people on the way, before she stopped and wondered what the hell she was doing. _Not like I can waltz in, declare Cora the murderer, and expect everyone to go on their merry way – mystery solved! Charming and Co. will have me tied up the second I show my face, pitchforks and flaming torches at the ready. _Gold was still a potential ally, but she really didn't want to resort to dealing with him unless it was absolutely necessary. For the time being, Regina was on her own.

Magic was building painfully inside her, and Regina had to use all of her willpower to keep it under control. Accidentally incinerating half of Storybrooke just because her mother made her jumpy would not endear her to anyone. They were more evenly matched now, she and Cora – she wasn't a helpless girl anymore. But she'd been a fool to think that she had been safe here, and her mother had undoubtedly picked up some new tricks in the 28 years since they had last met.

Now that Regina knew what she was looking for, it was easier to pick up traces of Cora's magic here and there and to follow the trail of sorts. She paused briefly outside of Gold's shop, wondering how badly she needed his help and what it would cost her to ask. She watched as he rearranged a display of rare weapons inside, and just as she was turning to go on, he glanced up and locked eyes with her. Surely he couldn't see through her cloaking spell…? Before Regina had time to react, Gold dropped his gaze and the moment was over. She hurried on.

The trail of magic was still weak, but it seemed to be leading Regina unmistakably towards one place: the dockyard. Cora had chosen well. Few people frequented the docks, and it was isolated just far enough from the main streets of Storybrooke to prevent prying eyes and unwelcome visitors.

The amount of caution and design that Cora was using to conceal her presence terrified Regina. She had expected fanfare – her mother to ride in like a storm, ripping out people's hearts in broad daylight, reveling in the pain and havoc she left in her wake. Cora's relative silence meant she had a plan, a nightmarish one at that.

Regina was finally closing in on the docks, the feel of her mother's magic now heavy in the air. She moved slowly, feeling more exposed than ever despite her current invisibility. She could see the water now, the mooring posts, a handful of seagulls circling and shrieking – and nothing else. No magical portals, no fairytale creatures, no Cora. There weren't even any ripples in the water. Clearly, Regina was missing something. Magic _had _been done here recently, a great deal of it. She had to get closer.

Her heels drummed against the wooden pier authoritatively, and Regina felt marginally more confident. Her mother wasn't an assassin. She would want the opportunity to _talk_ her daughter to death before she moved on to more physical methods.

Magic charged the air around her. _This is it. What am I not seeing_? Instinctively she reached a hand out over the water, stopping short when her fingers brushed against something solid. She tried again, more forcefully this time, pushing through the barrier of a cloaking spell eerily similar to her own. Once she peeled back the first layer of magic, Regina could see the ship take shape in front of her, marveling both at its size and its familiarity. Hook. _So she came with a friend. How nice._

The ship appeared to be empty and unguarded, so Regina stepped inside with little hesitation. It was likely a trap, Regina thought, _but sometimes you have to spring the trap before you can free yourself from it. _She moved below-deck, looking for anything that would tell her what Hook and Cora were planning or how they had found their way to Storybrooke in the first place. Her eyes skimmed over a pile of clothes on the floor, entirely unremarkable except for the fact that they were moving. And groaning.

Regina stepped carefully towards the mound, catching sight of glasses and matted, curly hair. "Archie?" she whispered, unable to believe it.

Archie's head snapped towards her voice, his eyes wide and pupils dilated. Regina remembered that she was invisible to him and dropped her spell, trying to smile reassuringly at the obviously terrified man. She moved to kneel next to him, examining the chains around his wrists – magical in nature, of course – and checking for injuries. "Archie, what happened to you?" was all she could think to say.

He began making muffled noises through his gag, and as Regina reached up to loosen it, she wondered why Archie's eyes still weren't focusing on her. He was looking intently over her shoulder, babbling incoherently but insistently. She managed to turn halfway around to see what he was staring at before an icy sensation ran up her spine and froze her in place.

Whatever courage Regina had been feeling quickly deadened. She closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly to try to black out her mother's words: "My dear. So nice of you to have finally joined us."

Cora gently turned Regina's head so she could see her mother and the pirate, who leaned against the doorway smirking and twirling his hook, pleased with himself as always.

"Mother," Regina ground out between clenched teeth, "I didn't realize you had taken up marauding in your spare time."

"Don't be silly, my dear. I've come all this way to see you." Cora's voice was soothing, her smile nothing less than pleasant. Every conversation with her was a chess match, and Regina had to place her pieces with caution.

Luckily Hook chose this moment to interrupt. "As touching as this reunion is, ladies, I must beg your leave. Crocodiles to skin, and all that." He looked expectantly at Cora.

"Yes, yes, go take care of your business," she waved Hook away, never taking her eyes off of Regina. When Hook's footsteps finally faded away, Cora sidled over to Regina and knelt in front of her, much like Regina had done with Archie. "After all," Cora said, brushing a strand of hair away from Regina's face, "my daughter and I have so much to catch up on."

Regina barely bit back a scream as the cold metal of her mother's shackles closed around her wrists.

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Next chapter: Emma, more Hook, more Cora/Regina/Archie.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you all for the reviews/faves/follows! I really do appreciate your support and encouragement. I'm trying to keep the characterization/details of the story consistent with the show, but it's a tricky line to walk. But that's half the fun of fanfic, isn't it? Anyway, I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story! I'm having a blast writing it.

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Emma sat with her legs propped up on the interrogation table, her chair teetering dangerously as she balanced on its two back legs. She frowned, troubled by something, then suddenly pounded a fist against the table in frustration. "We shouldn't have confronted Regina like that. We scared her off. Now we might never find her again!"

Mary Margaret had startled at her daughter's outburst, sloshing droplets of coffee over the table and the newspaper she had been reading. She shot Emma a withering glare which would have been much more effective if her eyes weren't twinkling with amusement. "It certainly wasn't an effective course of action. But Regina needs to be brought to justice – what else could we have done?"

Emma shrugged, still unconvinced that she had handled the situation correctly.

"Besides, as long as Henry is in Storybrooke, Regina won't be far away," Mary Margaret continued. "She would never leave him behind."

Emma groaned. "I don't know if that's a relief or my own personal nightmare." The moment of levity was short-lived, however, as Emma frowned again and looked down at her hands, the fingers worrying at each other. "Did I," she began quietly, "did I do the right thing when I told Henry about what she's done?"

Emma's attempt to sound casual only made her insecurities about parenting more obvious to Mary Margaret. "Emma," she said, reaching over to still Emma's hands in her lap. "Of course you did. Henry has a right to know the truth about the woman he's considered his mother for the past 11 years." Now it was Mary Margaret's turn to frown. "Why are you so worried about hurting Regina's feelings anyway?"

"I'm not! I just want to make sure she deserves the things I'm saying about her, especially when it comes to my – our – kid."

"Trust me, she deserves everything being said about her right now," David said as he walked in, his sword slung casually through his belt.

Emma swung her legs back to the floor, almost overturning her chair and rocking the table in her enthusiasm. "Any sign of her?"

"Nothing. She's gone."

"She can't leave town though, right?" Emma asked. "Not without erasing her memories?"

David nodded. "She's here somewhere. But if Regina doesn't want to be found, she won't be."

Emma sighed again in frustration. "I still feel like we're missing something. When I talked to her, Regina really didn't know what had happened to Archie. And she was so sure that she hadn't been there that night." She looked to her parents for an answer, found none. "I don't know…could she have done it and then erased her memory of doing it?"

David shrugged disinterestedly as he took the seat next to Emma. "With magic, I suppose anything is possible."

"We're not going to get any answers until we find Regina."

A new voice joined the conversation from the doorway. "I have an answer or two that might interest you lovelies." A very familiar, very self-satisfied voice.

"Hook!" Emma gasped as she, David, and Mary Margaret all whirled to look at their unexpected guest. "What…how…" Emma spluttered as she tried to process how impossible it was for that man to be standing in front of her.

"I see my presence has rendered you speechless yet again," Hook said, gesturing towards Emma's gaping mouth with a smirk.

Mary Margaret, though almost as surprised as her daughter, managed to form her questions more completely. "How did you get here, Hook? The portal closed behind us."

"Magic bean, a lake with regenerative powers, a woman who'll stop at nothing to get to her daughter – surely you can fill in the gaps, my lady," Hook drawled.

Emma flinched at that last bit of information. "Cora came with you?" She was out of her seat in an instant, eyes wide and body tense. "If Cora's here, Henry's in danger. And so is Regina."

Emma looked ready to run out the door and safeguard her son at once, but David stopped her with a raised hand. "Wait." He moved towards Hook, lightly resting a hand on the pommel of his sword. "You show up here, declaring your presence and your plans, and you expect us to treat it as anything other than a trap?"

"I didn't venture across worlds to be Cora's lapdog. I've designs of my own in this realm." Hook purposely caught Emma's eye, like he was sharing a secret with her. "Personal business – a date with an old friend, one might say." He strolled casually in Emma's direction, fingers playing along the curve of his hook. "It's nothing to do with any of you – unless you have something to say about that, Miss Swan?"

Hook paused to rake his eyes up and down Emma's body, winking at her cheekily. James took a step forward, fully drawing his sword, before Emma grabbed his arm and said, "Seriously, Mr. Macho? I can handle this."

David backed down as Emma took charge of the questioning, determined to cut through Hook's digressions and usual bullshit. "What did Cora come here to get, and how can we stop her?"

"So artless, Miss Swan?" He tutted. "I'm disappointed. You and I make such good partners in this dance." Emma simply glared at him until he relented. "All right, all right. Honestly, I don't know what Cora's up to. Not entirely, at least. But that 'danger' you mentioned before, well, it's fair to say that Her Majesty's been swept up in that already."

"You know where Regina is?"

"Sure, the queen and the cricket man are down at the docks, on my ship."

David, Mary Margaret, and Emma all spoke at once. "The cricket man?" they asked incredulously.

"You can't possibly mean…Archie?"

"Don't know his name; Cora just calls him 'the cricket.' Short man, glasses, looks a bit bookish, you know the type…" Hook trailed off.

Mary Margaret sank back down in her chair. "Oh, thank goodness."

"I wouldn't 'thank goodness' just yet, darling. Cora's dead set on making the cricket sing, if you catch my meaning."

A grave silence filled in the room, as everyone imagined the worst. David and Mary Margaret unconsciously moved closer together, finding reassurance in each other's presence.

Finally Hook clapped his hand against the wall and said, "Well, I've done my good deed for the year. If you'll excuse me – I've still got a crocodile to dispatch."

Before he could swagger out of earshot, Emma gathered herself enough to call after him. "He has magic in this world. Gold does, I mean." Hook gave her a peculiar look. "I, uh, just thought you should know," Emma finished lamely.

Hook grinned at how confused the woman looked at her own outburst. "Alas, a little bird beat you to it, love. I know about the magic." They simply stood for a minute in the relative privacy of the hallway, though David and Mary Margaret were still within earshot. "As long as we're trading warnings, Emma – watch out for Cora. She's damnably clever with her magic, and I wouldn't want that pretty head of yours to be separated from your shoulders."

And before David could act the overprotective father and threaten the pirate a second time, Hook had spun on his heel and was gone, whistling a cheerful sort of sea chanty and leaving three very troubled people behind.

The unspoken question hung heavily over them: what now?

* * *

"Magic-inhibiting chains, Mother?" Regina pitched her voice high and mockingly sweet. "And here I thought we were just going to have a chat."

"So we will, Regina. It's just that I know how your temper gets the better of you sometimes, and I wouldn't want anyone – particularly your little friend here – getting hurt." Satisfied that her daughter was properly restrained, Cora pulled Regina to her feet and began leading her to a different area of the ship. "Come. It'll be just us two girls. Like old times."

Regina chanced a glance back at Archie. He gave her a little nod, but Regina wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean. _Everything's a riddle these days_, she thought.

Cora led her to a table and sat down grandly, patting the chair next to her and saying, "Now sit down, dear, and tell me all the latest news." As if they were a normal mother and daughter who could sit around and trade gossip over a cup of coffee.

"I'm sure you've heard all the stories circulating in town, Mother – Archie's murder, my guilt – considering you're the cause of all of them."

"Murder?" Cora placed a hand over her heart as if to steady her nerves. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why, you've just seen the man yourself! Alive and well, wouldn't you say?"

Cora's oh-so-innocent, oh-so-sympathetic act was well-rehearsed, and Regina had seen her make use of it countless times before. Her mother knew it wouldn't fool her, but their whole relationship was built on this game of charades, this masking of venom and impulse under words of love.

"He's alive," Regina conceded. "But that body belonged to someone."

"No one of consequence," Cora insisted. "Collateral damage. I needed to do something to catch your attention."

Regina closed her eyes. Another life she had destroyed indirectly. That man's blood stained her hands as if she had strangled him herself.

"Such a small crime. Hardly worth a fuss. And how did the town react? They blamed you! Your friends couldn't _wait _to turn on you, after you brought them home – after you saved their lives! They would hunt you down like a dog if they could."

"They aren't my friends." Her mother's attempts to bait her weren't subtle, but the truth in them still stung.

"Mmm, you're right. Peasants. I don't know how you managed to live amongst them so long, dear."

"What would you have me do, Mother?"

"Leave this place. Come with me, and we'll find a new world to rule. A new beginning." Cora leaned over and ran a comforting hand through Regina's hair. "I just want to see my daughter happy," she whispered.

Regina sat stonily, not saying a word.

Cora sighed. "Don't you see, Regina? As long as you stay here, every little thing that happens in this place will be your fault. Every death, every windstorm, every overdue book from the library – they'll come pointing their fingers at you. They won't stop until they take everything from you. They won't stop until they see blood. Because to them you will always be the evil queen, and nothing more."

_You can pretend all you want, but we know how you are. And who you will always be. _

Regina swallowed hard against the emotion rising in her throat. Emma's words, and the conviction behind them, had cut her more deeply than she would ever admit.

Cora had moved so close their foreheads were almost touching. "Don't they deserve to burn for that?" she asked, looking so concerned, so like a mother trying desperately to unbreak a child's heart.

_Yes._

"They've already taken Henry from you." Regina's eyes flashed at the mention of her son, but Cora didn't realize what dangerous ground she was on. "He's such a special boy. Imagine what he could become if we took him with us, Regina. Imagine the life we could offer him. We can leave here and never look back."

"Never."

"That's right, dear, we'd never –"

"No, Mother, you will _never _lay a hand on my son," Regina cut in with a growl. She rose from her seat, her whole body quivering with electric rage. "Whatever you do to me, he'll be safe from you."

Cora simply cocked her head to one side, unimpressed. "Really, dear?" She stood suddenly, manipulating her form with magic until she seemed to tower over Regina. "Who will stop me from taking what's mine?" Her voice was magnified so loud Regina could feel its echoes down to her bones. All traces of a concerned mother were gone.

Regina couldn't control the smile that was spreading across her lips. "Whatever you do, he'll be safe," she repeated softly. She wanted to laugh. She was victorious. Her eyes were alight with the knowledge that she spoke the truth. She would die to protect Henry, as would Emma and a good portion of Storybrooke's population. Cora couldn't beat them all.

Her mother clearly thought Regina had gone mad, her expression one of surprise and bewilderment as if she had never really seen her daughter before.

_Maybe I have gone a little mad_, Regina thought. To stand in the face of her own death and laugh filled her with a different kind of power. A power greater than her mother's. She would win. Henry would be fine, even without her.

Cora's face twisted, and Regina felt a wave of magic surging towards her. "Whatever I do to you, daughter," her mother hissed.

Regina was drowning in darkness and screams – her own screams, she thought thickly, though she didn't feel herself screaming. She didn't feel much of anything. Fractured images played against her eyelids, and she realized her mother was pulling her mind apart. Finding the things Regina thought she had hidden deep enough inside her so that they belonged to her alone.

_Daniel. Her father. The feel of a new heart in her hand, oh how it beats! The taste of apples. Henry's arms around her. _The things she loved suddenly bent crooked, folded in on themselves. Everything changed faces. _Emma dead in the street. Henry in Cora's arms_. _An older Henry whose body glowed white with magic, whose eyes were empty and cold…_

Now Regina knew she was screaming, falling in a place that had no end. Her head would explode from the pressure. Her body would combust. The darkness was thickening into water, and she could feel it in her hands. She felt it pouring in her lungs.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

These characters are a verbose bunch, aren't they? And dramatic. So much fun to play with!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Still loving all of you who have taken the time to read and leave your thoughts - you guys are great! So. Much. Dialogue. in this chapter.

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_Gina. Gina. Gina._ _Daniel's voice was insistent, trying to wake her. His body was warm underneath her. He smelled like hay and wood, and everything was so simple in this moment that she wished they could stay this way, sleepy and content, forever._

"Regina. Regina, can you hear me?" Daniel's voice had changed – it didn't sound like him at all, actually, and Regina found herself rapidly descending from whatever dream-state she'd been in, shivering against the coldness of reality and the painfully hard floorboards under her knees.

She opened her eyes and regretted it immediately. The light blinded her, and her head pounded sickly. "Owww," she groaned, tasting blood.

"Just try to relax, Regina. Everything's going to be okay."

Now that the world was starting to return to its proper shape around her, Regina realized the man she was awkwardly slumped against was a very relieved-sounding Archie. Somehow he had worked the gag free from his mouth, and it was good to see him looking almost like his usual self. She flushed, remembering how she had dreamed of Daniel, and prayed to the old gods that she hadn't said or done anything inappropriate to her therapist.

"Archie? What happened?"

He frowned. "I was hoping you would be able to tell me."

"My mother and I had our little chat. It…didn't go well. For either of us." Regina stiffened suddenly, her body on high alert like an animal watching for predators. "Where is she?" she asked, trying and failing miserably to keep her voice level.

"She's gone," Archie reassured gently. "She left after –" There was an uncomfortable pause as he weighed what to say next.

"After what?"

Archie stayed silent, seemingly lost in thought. Regina tried to push herself upright, away from him so she could glower at him properly, but having her arms chained behind her and her legs stinging from sitting on them for so long made her movements complicated and painful. Her head was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She found herself praying to the gods for the second time in as many minutes, hoping she wouldn't be sick all over the both of them. If she looked anything like she felt, she was pathetic enough already. She felt scraped raw inside.

"What. Did. You. See. Archie?" she gritted out. "While my mother and I were 'talking.'"

He finally made eye contact with Regina but still looked reluctant to speak. "I couldn't _see_ anything, or hear anything – you were too far away. It was quiet for a while, and then I heard you shout something…about Henry, I think. Then magic started building. It was like the air was being sucked out of the room. You know how it feels."

Regina nodded. Some things about magic were constants, and being in the presence of dark magic always felt a little bit like death.

"Things started to go black too, like there was smoke leaking into the ship. Loud voices. I couldn't tell what either of you were saying, but you both were angry. And then everything was quiet again, until you started screaming. You screamed for a long time."

Archie seemed troubled, even slightly haunted, by the memories he was recounting, and Regina wondered why. "Go on," she said.

"When Cora dragged you back out here and threw you over by me, I – I thought you were dead. You were so pale, and bleeding from the mouth – I thought she had killed you for sure."

"I did too," Regina admitted softly. "But you saw her leave? Why didn't she just finish us both off when she had the chance?"

"I don't know. She seemed distracted when she brought you back. Really agitated. I think she forgot I was here. And then she just left, walked away without saying anything."

"We need a way to find out where she's gone and what she's doing." She sighed. "Not that we have any way of stopping her."

"You think the others are in danger? Henry? Or Emma?"

"All of them." Already Regina's confidence in the belief that Henry would always be protected from Cora, the belief she had staked her life on, was turning to guilt. "I set Cora…a sort of challenge. Not on purpose – I was making sure that she knew she would never get to Henry, but it's something _she _would see as a challenge. I just hope she didn't decide to take me up on it."

"Regina, what did your mother want you to do?"

There were some things Regina wanted to keep to herself, and that included the particulars of her relationship with her mother. "I didn't realize this had turned into one of our sessions, Archie," she said bitterly.

"This isn't a 'session,' Regina, it's us trying to figure out what Cora is up to and how we can stop it. I need you to tell me what you know, just like I told you what I heard and saw from my perspective, even though I didn't want to."

That was something that still puzzled Regina. "Why didn't you want to tell me what you heard? What was so awful about it?"

Archie looked genuinely surprised. "I don't know what it was like for you in there, but the sounds, the screams – I've never heard hurt and hatred like that before. It was terrible to listen to. And then when I thought Cora had killed you," he paused to look Regina squarely in the eye, "that was pretty awful too."

"You were…worried about me?" she asked, almost shyly. It honestly hadn't occurred to her that someone might worry about her. Usually they worried about what she would do to _them_.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

It was a simple question, and Regina's silence was all the answer that was needed.

"She wanted me to leave Storybrooke with her, to find somewhere else where we could rule together. She wanted us to take Henry too, so we could teach him to use magic. To be like us." Regina could tell Archie was growing more and more horrified with every word, but he hid it as best he could behind his impassive-therapist expression. "And she wanted me to burn you all to dust."

The last statement made Archie's eyes bug out slightly, and Regina almost laughed.

"You must have been tempted to take her up on her offer, at least a little." Archie could insist that their current conversation had nothing to do with therapy all he wanted, but it wasn't a very convincing argument.

"I've considered leaving Storybrooke, yes. Leaving with my _mother_, like I was some sort of pet for her?" Regina's voice chilled. "Tempting? Decidedly less so."

"She promised you a better life with Henry, and you still refused to go with her."

The mere mention of Henry's name sent a frisson of protectiveness through her. She leaned closer to Archie, eyes once again aglow with something like triumph. "The minute she brought Henry into it, our conversation was over. I'll never let her lay a hand on my son."

"And that's when things got loud, and I could feel magic?"

"I laughed at her." Regina winced slightly as her teeth grazed her split lip. She had probably bitten through it when Cora had started her mind games. "That was a mistake."

"She was angry that her manipulations weren't working anymore?"

Regina raised an eyebrow at his understatement. "Murderously so. I really thought that was the end for me. The amount of magic she was using – I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that before."

"What did she do to you, Regina?" Archie's voice was gentle, questioning. "You don't have to tell me if you'd rather not, but it might help if you talk about it with someone."

She took a deep breath. "It's an old trick, breaking into someone's mind, their safe places, and making them see terrible things. You can make them relive the darkest parts of their lives and make all their greatest fears come true. My mother showed me things from the past, monstrous things. And then there was Henry…I don't remember much more than that."

There was a grim understanding in Archie's eyes. "I think I know what you mean. When Cora kidnapped me, she picked through my brain to learn more about you. It wasn't as bad as what she did to you, but I did see things that I wish I hadn't. Things about myself that I thought were hidden from everyone else."

"She knows me well, so it's easier to exploit my memories and thoughts. You're still a stranger to her, and that's what keeps you safe. Not that I'm trying to diminish what she did to you," Regina added hurriedly. "I wouldn't wish the experience on my worst enemy."

Archie opened his mouth to comment but wisely snapped it shut at the warning look Regina gave him. "I was just going to say that you should be proud of yourself for standing up to Cora the way you did. It takes a lot of courage to defend the people you love like that."

Regina snorted contemptuously. "Please. You should know by now that I'm not the heroic type."

Archie's mouth was set with determination. "Regina, listen to me. Your mother offered you the easy way out – everything the old you would have wanted. Instead of taking all of that, you stood up and said you'd rather die than accept her offer. If that's not –"

"But I wanted to," Regina broke in quietly, looking ashamed. "I wanted to burn this world, even if just for a minute."

Archie sighed. "That's normal. You think I never want to hunt down the kids that fill my mailbox with crickets as a joke and say something to them? That forgiveness is easy? You feel wronged, justifiably so, but it's going to take time for people to change."

"But I'm not even sure I am changing! I try to say and do the right things, even when I don't _feel _them, and the way some people look at me –"

"You're changing, Regina, trust me," Archie said firmly. "Little by little people will start to notice that you aren't the same 'Evil Queen' they're used to seeing, and maybe they'll look at you in a different light."

They sat in companionable silence for a while, despite the threat of Cora returning at any possible moment. "I'm glad you're still alive, bug."

"I'd tell you again not to call me 'bug,' Regina, but I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"I even meant it. By the way, I'm pretty sure it's the dwarves who keep putting crickets in your mailbox. They think it's hilarious."

"Ah. Maybe I _won't_ mention anything to them," Archie said, thinking of how little a chance he stood against six burly men with pickaxes.

"I could turn them into toads for you, if you like."

"I might keep that offer in mind."

Regina shifted, trying to find a position that would be comfortable for more than twenty minutes at a time. She wondered how Archie had managed to stay sane on Hook's blastedly inhospitable ship for the past few days.

"Are you all right, really?" he asked, watching her. "You still look exhausted."

"Perfectly fine," she muttered, and thankfully Archie let the lie slide. "The worst part is not knowing what's going on out there. They still don't know that Cora's here, unless she's revealed herself. They won't be ready."

"If something bad was happening, surely we would have heard something by now?"

Regina was inclined to agree with him. The waters around the dock were still calm, and if she listened closely she could make out the sounds of birdsong outside. She hadn't felt any great stirrings of magic either, but she couldn't shake the heavy sense of foreboding that pulled at her chest. "She played us all for fools, and we fell right into her hands," she said disgustedly. "I'm sorry, Archie."

Archie was confused again. "Sorry? For what? You didn't have anything to do with this."

"I had _everything _to do with it! Cora only came here to get to me, everything she's done has been to get to me, and somehow _you _got mixed up in all of this…" Regina trailed off, tired of pointing out the obvious.

"It's still not your fault, Regina," Archie insisted.

"I hate to break it to you, Archie, but there aren't any rescue parties coming for us. No one is even looking for us. Everyone thinks that you're dead and that I killed you – so I guess they _are_ looking for me, but only to string me up."

Talking to Regina was sometimes like moving in circles, Archie thought. One moment she was hopeful, really _trying_, and the next she was endlessly frustrated and vengeful, struggling to control all of the emotions she hadn't dealt with for so long. Like most of Storybrooke, she wanted to move on from the past but was simply unable to let it go. They couldn't just forget about the lives they had known in the Enchanted Forest.

"Don't say that, Regina. We'll find a way to get out of here."

"Without magic?" Regina shook the chains that bound her, dropping her head in defeat. "I'm powerless. I can't protect you here, Archie. I can't even protect myself." She sounded dangerously close to crying.

Archie clumsily moved closer to her, so that their arms touched, shared warmth. "Optimism, Regina," he said, cracking a wry smile for the first time in days. "Let's keep up that spirit of optimism."

Regina rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help her lips from twitching up in response to the cricket's unfailing hopefulness. She was smiling too.

* * *

One more long chapter to go, unless it gets long enough to split into 2. A bit of a showdown with Cora, and lots of resolution between our characters.

I'm actually leaving for Peace Corps service tomorrow (!), and I had really hoped to bust this story out before I left, but that's simply not going to happen. I'm going to try my best to get it up as soon as possible, but you might have to be a little patient with me. At least I'll be spending my last night at home watching Once Upon a Time! Until next time, friends... (It'll be soon, I promise!)


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